Core Notes

Dear TCS Families,

Below you will find some important reminders and news about things going on from around the Tuscaloosa City Schools. Please take a moment to read through the information below.

Now that spring break is over, it means there will be a flurry of school events and activities in the coming weeks. The end of the semester will be here before we know it. From the Celebrate the Arts event at Bama Theatre on Monday to numerous school-based art nights, literacy nights or other end of the year events scheduled in the coming weeks, I encourage you to attend. Our students are making amazing progress and show such potential, as it evident in some of the highlights in this newsletter.

Thank you again for your support of the Tuscaloosa City Schools!

Mike Daria, Ed. D.

TCS Superintendent

High school students who are hoping to one day become teachers could be eligible for $44,000 in scholarships and a guaranteed job after graduation through a “Teach in Bama” program at The University of Alabama.

The program is launching for 2024-25, and the Tuscaloosa City Schools is partnering with UA so that TCS students may take advantage of the scholarships, paid for by both UA and TCS. As part of the program, high school students who receive the Teach in Bama Scholarship will also receive two free UA Early College courses, access to the UA Summer Residential Program, including meal plan and book allowance, and extensive mentoring and support while at UA full time. The recipients will also have the opportunity to get paid while interning with TCS during college.

In return for the full-tuition scholarship, TCS students who participate as a “Teach in Bama” Scholar will commit to teaching in the Tuscaloosa City Schools for two years following their graduation at The University of Alabama.

“We are excited about this program and thankful to the University of Alabama for being such an important thought partner in this, making a difference in the lives of tomorrow’s educators,” said Dr. Mike Daria, Superintendent of the Tuscaloosa City Schools.

The Tuscaloosa City Board of Education unanimously approved the partnership on Tuesday.

There is a national teacher shortage, with more teachers reaching retirement and fewer students studying education at the college level to become teachers. Between 2010 and 2018, enrollment in traditional teacher programs nationally dropped by around a third, according to research by the Center for American Progress, a nonpartisan policy institute.

To help increase interest in the profession of teaching locally, the Tuscaloosa City Schools started offering a “Education and Training” program this school year at the Tuscaloosa Career and Technology Academy, targeting high school students who were interested in becoming teachers. Approximately 102 students have enrolled in the courses since it began in the fall. Students in the class get hands-on classroom experience assisting and observing teachers in the Tuscaloosa City Schools. The idea is to attract students to the education field early, and help prepare them for their potential careers.

“We are thinking out of the box when it comes to addressing the national teacher shortage on a local level,” Daria said. “We have so many talented students with potential to become wonderful educators. This Teach in Bama program will help potential educators start their careers early, with little to no student debt and guaranteed employment following graduation.”

To qualify for the Teach in Bama scholarship, students must have a 3.0 high school GPA, must earn at least three hours of UA Early College Credit by December 18, 2024 and attend the UA Early College Summer Residential Program and the Teach in Bama Institute, which will run concurrently in the summer. To maintain the scholarship, recipients must enroll and complete a minimum of 12 hours in an approved teacher education program.

Congrats to Tuscaloosa Magnet Schools-Middle students Maddie Lee, Lillie Reardon, Aeesha Mulani, Laryn Word and Ela Melouk who were selected as Nominees for the 2024 Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators Challenge (JIC), a program of Society of Science. JIC is the nation's premier STEM research competition for middle school students. Only the top 10% of sixth, seventh, and eighth grade students competing at Society-affiliated fairs each year are nominated to enter!

Celebrate the Arts is happening Monday and is open to the public!! 100 Years of Excellence in Arts Education! Come and celebrate with us, watching student performances and student work, on March 25 at 6:00 PM at the Bama Theatre. Event is FREE to attend, but seating is limited. Doors open at 5:30 PM.

To learn more about Celebrate the Arts, watch the video below.

The Tuscaloosa City Schools was invited to Washington D.C. last week as part of a summer learning round table hosted by the U.S. Department of Education, highlighting school systems and communities who are doing summer learning well.

Dr. Andrew Maxey, director of strategic initiatives, represented TCS. Also participating in the round table were U.S. Deputy Secretary of Education Cindy Marten, Dr. Elfrefa Massie, Director of Education and Expanded Learning, National League of Cities, Neera Tanden Director of the National Policy Council, Dr. Daniella Susnara, Director of Planning and Assessment for Community Engagement in the University of Alabama's Center for Community-Based Partnerships and Kim Turner, President & CEO, Boys and Girls Clubs of West Alabama.

“It’s very validating to what we do,” said Maxey, adding that the TCS summer learning program has paid off and will continue to do so.

“The evidence we have, that when students attend the majority of our program, they have a 73% chance of losing no learning at all as compared to peers who don’t attend the program who only have about a 13%. In other words, students who attend summer learning return to us in the fall at the same level of learning where they left off in May ready to go and ready to climb,” said Dr. Maxey.

The results of the program have been impressing many, including the Biden administration. Biden’s latest budget includes $8 billion for districts to help improve learning loss, following programs like this one.

“Last week, the Department of Education, in collaboration with the National Policy Council, put on a seminar that included Tuscaloosa and Rochester, New York, as two examples as to how to do this work at the community level and how to do it well,” said Dr. Maxey.

Parents, take note! We need your participation to help improve the student and family experience in the Tuscaloosa City Schools.

You should have received a link via email on Monday for our annual "Culture/Quality" survey, which is administered by K12 Insight. This survey is taken annually by staff, students and parents, and examines everything from student and parent involvement to school communications and student experience.

The information from the survey is used for the improvement of our schools and the school system as a whole. The results will be made public later this spring.

Please click the link below to take the survey and let us know how we are doing. Families with children attending more than one school will be able to take the survey again for another school.

https://survey.k12insight.com/.../TCS-2024-ClimateSurvey...

Please take the time to take survey once it is released! It will be live until April 1!

All schools will have their state assessments in the next weeks.

The ACAP will be administered in grades 3-8 and the ACT will be administered in grade 11. The results from these assessments are used to make decisions for your child's future learning as they are intended to assess his/her learning year-to-date. The results from the assessments are also used to evaluate your child's school and the TCS.

This has been a great year of strong teaching and learning with high expectations for excellence. We are eager for your child to demonstrate strong learning. You can help by talking with your child about the importance of these assessments, make sure they have a good breakfast before school and is well rested during the testing time.

Students from several TCS elementary schools, plus Tuscaloosa Magnet Middle School, Westlawn Middle School and Northridge Middle School were recognized by the Tuscaloosa City Board of Education Tuesday for their recent accomplishments in math competitions.

In a recent MATHCOUNTS competition in February, Northridge Middle School came in first place and Tuscaloosa Magnet Middle School placed second, among other local schools competing. MATHCOUNTS is a prestigious nationwide middle school math competition where thousands of students participate across the country.

On the elementary level, students from Tuscaloosa Magnet Elementary, Verner Elementary, Rock Quarry Elementary, Central Elementary and Skyland Elementary were recognized for their achievements in the Perennial Math competition. There were 500 students and 106 teams registered to participate in the December Zone Tournament on December 2, 2023.

• Of the top 36 Individuals who placed in the 1, 2 or 3 categories, Tuscaloosa City Schools took:
  * First Place Awards - 2
  * Second Place Awards - 4
  * Third Place Awards - 10

• Of the top 19 Teams who placed in the 1, 2 or 3 categories, Tuscaloosa City Schools took:
  * First Place Awards - 3
  * Second Place Awards - 4
  * Third Place Awards - 3

Congrats to all our student mathematicians!

If your child will be five years old on or before Sept. 1, 2024, then it’s time to kick off the kindergarten experience by getting registered with Tuscaloosa City Schools!! For more information about enrollment, visit: https://shorturl.at/bnGKN

In the Tuscaloosa City Schools, ensuring school safety and security is paramount. We are dedicated to protecting our students, staff, and community members and are continually enhancing our safety protocols.

Due to rising inflationary costs, the district must increase revenue to ensure the presence of school resource officers in all buildings, expand current safety infrastructure, and improve our overall safety plan.

Last October, the Board of Education unanimously voted to seek a tax referendum to present to voters in 2024. According to the resolution, if voters within the Tuscaloosa city limits approve a tax referendum in fall 2024, the city's property tax millage rate could increase by up to 11.5 mills.

With an approved referendum, the millage increase would generate around $17.25 million a year starting in 2025, solely for the Tuscaloosa City Schools. The last time local tax rates were increased to support the school district was in 1986.

The new revenue would benefit three areas:

• School safety: Ensuring there are school resource officers in every school during the school day and enhancing security infrastructure.

• Educator Excellence: Retaining and recruiting the best and the brightest educators through competitive pay and benefits.

• Premier Student Programs/Services: Making sure that the current programs continue and rigorous academic opportunities and student programs are expanded.

For more details on what is included in this referendum, please visit www.tuscaloosacityschools.com/referendum.

Congratulations to the TCS Mustangs for their undefeated performance in Montgomery, AL at the 2024 2-day March Miracles State Basketball Championships. They are Division 4 State Champions! GO MUSTANGS!!!

We are entering Prom Season at the Tuscaloosa City Schools which will be followed quite closely by high School graduations. Preparations and leadups to both of these events can be very busy times. Let’s try our very best to keep them filled with joy, while staying safe.

The season can be stressful for teenagers, so it's important to have important family conversations, and don't wait until last minute. Below are some tips from TCS Safety Coordinator Mr. Abner Green to help during this busy season:

• Be clear about the things that violate your household rules, things violate the school rules and things that are violations of the law.
• Review transportation arrangements. Prom Night is not a time for a first-time driver to climb behind the wheel.
• If your Prom Crew has hired transportation, be sure to verify that the provider is reputable and check on the limits of the agreement.
• Know who you or your child will be riding with. Multiple happy teenagers in a car together can often be a distraction for the person controlling a vehicle.
• Remember, there is true stress and hard work surroundings celebrations. If you or your teen will be a driver, be sure you have enough rest; focus on your driving when behind the wheel; and stay away from intoxicating substances.
• Families should renew their discussion on drugs and alcohol. If drinking or using drugs a teenager puts themselves at risk but also can hurt or kill friends or people close to them as well as strangers.
• Being high or intoxicated can easily lead to a teenager making bad decision that can have life altering consequences.
• Think. It Can Happen To Me; and then purposely avoid those things that can lead to tragedy.
• As a Parent and As a Prom-Goer, it is important to Keep Communicating. Have conversations before the event. Make sure your phone is charged. Select or share a family Phrase or Emoji to be used as a signal for help. Discuss an itinerary or time schedule. Make sure familial support knows where you will be and for how long.
• Parents or Parental Groups should also communicate (my child and your child will be attending together, these are the rules ‘We” have set). Talk and apply consistency.
• Sometimes teenagers might want to continue the festivities after the school sponsored function is over. If Parents choose to arrange a safe place for an after party, understand that providing alcohol to minors is a violation of the law, even when it occurs at a private home or function. If you are sponsoring such an event, take special care to ensure every participant can return safely home.

We want teenagers to enjoy this pivotal time in their lives but, most of all remember that keeping our students safe and health is our primary concern.

May will be here before we know it and so will graduations!

This year, all three TCS high school graduation ceremonies will be held at Coleman Coliseum at UA. For more information about graduations, click here: Graduation - Tuscaloosa City School District (tuscaloosacityschools.com)

The annual Mayor's Cup 5K will be held in downtown Tuscaloosa on April 27, 2024. TCS employees and students can register for only $20 with the code "TCS2024"! Participants can run or walk, but it's more about coming together to support a great cause.

Proceeds from the Mayor's Cup go to benefit Pre-K education in the Tuscaloosa City Schools. Since the inaugural race in 2007, the Mayor's Cup has raised more than $335,000 for pre-K in the city.

To register for the Mayor's Cup, or for more information, click HERE.

Attendance is critical to future success. Please make sure your child is at school, on time, each and every day!

BSN Sports has set up online "swag stores" for our schools where any student, faculty or parent can buy school branded gear. This was a desire that was expressed by students during the Superintendent's student advisory meetings at the high schools last school year.

The "swag" on these sites include a variety of price points, brands, and are in men's, women's and children's sizes, plus they have cups and other items as well. On the main page, they also have gear per sport.

There is also branded gear for the elementary and middle schools, too! To see the middle school and elementary options, on the desktop website, once you have clicked on the type of item to browse, you can go to the sidebar where it says "campus" and then select feeder school, where the items will pop up with other school names. Select the school that you want.

Each feeder zone will receive 10% back of all purchases in the form of a store credit/rebate that can be used for future branded purchases by the school(s). So, support your school and show school pride!

Northridge feeder zone store: NORTHRIDGE HIGH SCHOOL JAGUARS - TUSCALOOSA, Alabama - Sideline Store - BSN Sports

Central feeder zone store: CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL FALCONS - TUSCALOOSA, Alabama - Sideline Store - BSN Sports

Bryant feeder zone store: PAUL W BRYANT HIGH SCHOOL STAMPEDE - COTTONDALE, Alabama - Sideline Store - BSN Sports

It is important to remember that if you or your child see or hear something concerning, please report it to your school's principal. It can be the first step to saving a situation from becoming dangerous. Again, "See Something, Say Something!"